Metal Origins
by Project Starvix
Summary: Why is Metal Sonic so protective? Why doesn't he hate Sonic the Hedgehog? What's with Shadow Android's quill highlights? And why the heck is Metal Knuckles such an idiot? Well, we're about to find out...
1. Episode: Robo

**A response to my poll, as promised, a story explaining why Eggman's robots are so maddingly out of character. It will be a three shot, the first chapter explaining Metal Knuckles' craziness, the second Shadow Android's origins, and the third Metal Sonic's reasons for no longer hating Sonic the Hedgehog. Metal Sonic's protectiveness is explained bit by bit in each of the stories.**

 **Project Starvix note: Apologies to aquagirl555 for not responding further, but I knew I'd be posting this relatively soon.**

 **Project Starvix FanFiction tip: Be aware you can't put links in PM's unless they're from FanFiction or FictionPress. If you wish to give links, you need to separate periods from everything else.**

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Sonic related, including *Sob* Eggman's robots. I just like to mess with 'em.

* * *

I am Metal Sonic. My primary objective is to destroy Sonic the Hedgehog. I will do so and nothing will get in my way.

I idly watched my Master, Eggman, as the scientist worked at his newest invention. I wasn't all that interested, unless of course the thing he was designing was an upgrade to better help me kill Sonic the Hedgehog once and for all.

It did not seem to be an upgrade, though. So I only stayed because Eggman insisted.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Eggman finally finished putting the thing together. He chuckled maniacally as he prepared to turn it on.

"At last!" he said triumphantly. "I've designed the perfect creation that will enable me to be rid of that cursed hedgehog once and for all!"

In spite of myself I stiffened. This was quite intriguing to me; perhaps this thing that Eggman created was useful after all. "What is it, Master?" I asked.

Eggman quickly flicked a switch on the machine's back, and bright green eyes lit up. The thing sat up quickly, revealing itself to be a robotical version of that cursed Echidna loser that kept hanging around Sonic.

"Eternal systems online. Systems booting…" After a slight pause, the machine turned to Eggman and spoke to him directly. "I am mecha bot 03, a.k.a. Metal Knuckles, ready to serve you Master."

"Another mecha bot, Master?" I blurted out. "What could possibly induce you to create it?"

"The fact that you obviously can't do the one thing that I ask: To kill Sonic the Hedgehog," Eggman replied.

I bristled. "I _will_ kill him," I promised. "And I will _not_ need the help of this piece of trash."

"Enough! I'll not have his back talk from you, Metal Sonic, I made you!" Eggman yelled at me. "Now, to lure Sonic into a little trap…"

I seethed inwardly as Eggman proceeded to brag about his latest foolproof plan. (Secretly, I have always envisioned him as the fool.) He would use a Chaos Emerald to trick Sonic into a race through Reactive Factory. I would be his opponent; Metal Knuckles would be hiding near the finish line. When Sonic zoomed past him, Metal Knuckles would take him out with a built-in sniper rifle. He'd been designed to be a crack shot against super fast opponents.

I was furious! "Sonic is MY target!" I snapped to Metal Knuckles as soon as Eggman ordered me and Metal Knuckles out of the room to recharge for the next day.

"Not anymore," Metal Knuckles replied, his voice sounding quite pleased that I was angry. "You're so flawed he had to give your 'target' to someone who could actually get rid of him."

I whirled to Metal Knuckles, my anger valves rising to a dangerous level. "You stay away from my target," I warned him.

"If you weren't a loser, there'd be no target for me to stay away from," Metal Knuckles taunted, getting into his recharge chamber. "But you wouldn't know that. You're so outdated I bet you were hunting down targets back when Dinosaurs roamed the earth!"

A low growl escaped the back of my throat.

"Of course, it's a good thing those tar pits were there; otherwise the Dinos wouldn't be extinct. I know you didn't hit any of THOSE targets, either!"

Furious, I threw a punch at the infuriating machine, but to my surprise Metal Knuckles blocked me effortlessly. He was shockingly strong; even with my servomotors wide open in an effort to overpower him he held me back as if I was an amusing plaything.

"Don't. Touch. Me," Metal Knuckles whispered in my ear, before he rammed his fists into my chest plate. The blow knocked me to my knees; but the new mecha saw no need to press his attack as he reentered his recharge chamber.

I clenched my fists as Metal Knuckles powered down for his first recharge. How DARE this upstart just waltz in here and try to destroy Sonic! Sonic was MINE to destroy, and mine alone!

My eyes fell to his arm, where his sniper rifle was hidden. I began to form a plan. "If I can't hit my target…" I whispered, tip-toeing to the robot. "Then I'll see to it you won't, either."

* * *

My master was pleased that all was going according to plan. The hedgehog had wanted the emerald; and he was too conceited to pass up a chance to beat me in a race. I could practically hear Eggman chuckling with glee. I wished I had a mouth so that I could smirk; it was hard for me to find ways to express amusement, not that I felt that sensation often.

But we'll see who's gleeful when this is all over. That cursed Metal Knuckles should be taking aim right about now…

The hedgehog paused briefly, just before the finish line, sticking his tongue out to taunt me. "I guess you just can't beat the original. Sonic the Hedgehog, accept no substitutes!" he taunted me, feeling cocky because he knew he'd won. I almost felt sorry that I had sabotaged Metal Knuckles; a shot to the head would have served that cursed hedgehog right.

 _Almost_ sorry being the keyword. Sonic the Hedgehog would get a shot to the head, but it would be my weapon that unleashed that shot.

Behind me, I heard a clicking sound and knew Metal Knuckles had taken his shot. Sonic also knew, but later, and because of a more obvious clue.

You see, Metal Knuckles exploded. I always did enjoy overkill.

"Whoa," Sonic whispered, looking quite awed at the massive explosion I had caused by hooking up Metal Knuckles' firing trigger with his power core cooling restraints. When he had taken his shot, it had overheated every inch of his body until it spontaneously combusted. Probably not fun to experience, but it was certainly fun to watch. Destroying things was my specialty, after all.

I couldn't help but feel some measure of pride in seeing the look of admiration on Sonic's face as he took in the massive explosion. He obviously didn't know what had exploded, or why, but he was impressed all the same. Then he turned around and put on such a burst of speed that mere seconds later my sensors picked up the evidence of a sonic boom in the area.

I wish I had had the foresight to shoot Sonic while he was preoccupied with Metal Knuckles' fiery demise, but I contented myself with the thought that I had already demolished one rival that day; the other one would fall soon enough.

Sonic the Hedgehog was my target. For trying to steal that target, Metal Knuckles deserved his fate.

* * *

Eggman was furious, as I knew he'd be. But I had made sure to wipe the monitor's recording systems last night so he could not prove I had sabotaged Metal Knuckles; and now that I was his only mecha bot he could not afford to disassemble me.

So the fool occupied himself by trying to reassemble Metal Knuckles; as if that was possible. I was certain that the machine was beyond even the slightest hope of repair.

Yet as the days went by, it seemed to become apparent that Eggman was, in fact, doing the impossible. I grew more uneasy as the form of Metal Knuckles began to take shape; and as Eggman never left the assembly room I was unable to sabotage his machine further. I grew increasingly uneasy until at last things came to a head.

Eggman was prepared to reactivate Metal Knuckles.

As my inventor prepared to turn on his latest invention once again, I silently charged my weapons systems and prepared for anything. Metal Knuckles had proved to be quite violent and if he suspected I had been involved with foul play he would attack me the instant he was back online.

Eggman took a deep breath and flicked a switch on the back of Metal Knuckles' back. His optical sensors started to glow a brilliant green color.

"Metal Knuckles?" Eggman called. "Can you hear me?"

Metal Knuckles cocked his head and stared at his creator. Then he giggled.

"Geez, you're fat!" he laughed. "And you have silly little spaghetti legs!" He started to laugh harder, so hard in fact that he fell off of the platform Eggman had placed him on and hit the floor. The impact just seemed to make him laugh harder. Suddenly he stopped, his gaze falling on a control panel to his left. A bright yellow light was flashing on the console.

"Pretty…" Metal Knuckles mused admiringly, completely transfixed by the bright yellow button. "What does _this_ do?" He yelled suddenly, jumping up and hitting the button, which happened to be a self-destruct mechanism.

"No!" Eggman shrieked, rushing to the console and typing in a code that deactivated the destruction of the base. Metal Knuckles took no notice; he was currently in the middle of the room trying his luck at river stomp, it seemed. Eggman quickly jogged over to him and flicked him off. Metal Knuckles slowly powered down.

I looked at Eggman expectantly. The scientist was panting, but he stood up straight and smoothed back what little hair he had to compose himself. "I can fix that," he told me matter-of-factly.

* * *

But it soon became apparent that Eggman _couldn't_ fix that. No matter how many times he tried, or how many parts he swapped out, the explosion had damaged Metal Knuckles' hard drive so badly the damage to his logic sensors could not be repaired. He was still insanely strong and still a masterful sharpshooter, but he no longer had the attention span or the memory unit necessary to make use of those skills. I thought it poetic justice that the machine who I hated almost as much as I hated the hedgehog should spend the rest of his days as a babbling lunatic. Perhaps he and Dr. Eggman could be peers.

Eggman, however, would not disassemble Metal Knuckles. Perhaps he still had a small part of humanity left that would not allow him to destroy something he had created. More than likely, however, he was just too stubborn and prideful to admit that he wasn't smart enough to figure out how to fix his own machine. Metal Knuckles' AI chip, while flawed, was growing steadily, however. Metal Knuckles was starting to turn himself on when the doctor turned him off. It would not be long, I thought, before Eggman was forced to destroy him before the crazy machine did something to damage the base.

I was unprepared for Eggman's solution to this new dilemma, however.

* * *

It was late and I was in the process of recharging when Eggman came into the recharging center and interrupted me. He looked like he'd been stranded in the Sahara desert without food and water for weeks.

"Metal Sonic," he said, not even bothering to glance at me. "Come with me."

I did not wish to leave my recharging center but my command matrix degreed that Eggman was my master and that I had to obey him. For now, at least. So I followed him to the lab.

"Get on the table," he told me, going over to where he kept his tools. "It's time I upgraded you to be more useful to me."

I felt a surge of excitement; whenever he stated that it meant I would soon get another chance to best Sonic the Hedgehog. I got upon the table and Eggman deactivated my motor functions so I could not move while he was working.

But something was wrong. He was not upgrading my weapons; or fine tuning my speed or strength. Instead he opened up the hidden door to my memory unit.

"Just as I thought," he muttered. "You don't seem to like Metal Knuckles."

What does that have to do with destroying Sonic? I wished I could will my motor functions back on; he's starting to…he's deleting my memory files! Stop! Stop it; quit altering my memories!

"We'll just have to fix that," Eggman mused to himself more than anyone, and then he shut me down completely and I remembered no more.

* * *

….Rebooting…Rebooting…

I silently waited until my rebooting procedure had finished before I reactivated my optical sensors. I looked around, ascertaining my location. I was in Eggman's laboratory. I quickly checked my memory files to see what had happened; it seemed I had been chasing Sonic the Hedgehog through Reactive Factory and he turned unexpectedly and damaged me before I had had time to react. My hatred for my organic double intensified; he had humiliated me yet again.

"Good morning Metal Sonic. I trust you're functioning normally again?"

I looked up to where Eggman was standing, giving me a malevolent smile that he assumed would reassure me.

"I am functioning fully," I assured him.

"Good. Good," Eggman looked pleased. "I have…someone I would like you to meet."

I unsteadily got to my feet and followed him to my recharging center. When he opened the door, the first thing I noticed was that another recharging chamber had been added near my own. I was wondering what the meaning of that was when…something…jumped right in front of me.

"HI!" The something said happily.

I instinctively activated my weapons systems and took aim at the thing when internal warnings started to flash inside my CPU unit.

 _ **Do not destroy,**_ my Primary Objective Center informed me.

 _'Why?'_ I asked it.

 _ **Primary Objective: Protect.**_ Explained my P.O.C.

 _'Primary Objective is to destroy Priority One Hedgehog!'_ I argued.

 _ **Negative. Primary Objective: Protect.**_

 _'Explain!'_

 _ **Protect. Protect. Protect.**_

I felt…confused. Conflicted. Primary Objective had always been to destroy, not protect. I…I was not even sure what 'protect' meant. Only that it meant do not destroy for certain; I deactivated my weapon and my P.O.C. quieted.

I decided to study this thing that I was supposed to…protect…in order to see if it would give me any clues as to what protect meant so I could carry out my primary objective.

It was a mecha bot series just as I was; that was surprising. I idly wondered when Eggman had found the time to create it without my knowledge. It resembled Knuckles the Echidna; and was bouncing up and down happily without a care in the world. It seemed defective to me.

Eggman took this opportunity to excuse himself. "I'll just let the two of you get acquainted," he stated, turning to the machine and staring at him. "I just hope you can remember to listen to Metal Sonic," he told it before walking out.

"What is your designation?" I asked after an uneasy silence.

The echidna robot gave me a blank stare. "You talk funny," he finally said, grinning at me.

I started to feel frustrated. "I mean…what is…" I scanned my memory banks, looking for a simpler way to put my request. "What is…your name?"

"What is _your_ name?" he replied instead of answering.

"My designation is Mecha bot 2, but you may refer to me as Metal Sonic," I told him.

"Ohhhhhhh," he nodded wisely and leaned forward, motioning me to come closer as if he were about to reveal some great secret. "I'm Metal Knuckles," he whispered in my ear. "And I like to PAR-TAY!"

This last word he shouted; temporarily causing my hearing matrix to overload and I jerked back, grabbing my ear. I glared at Metal Knuckles while he did some sort of bizarre dance step around the room; when all at once he stopped and pointed at a power supply for our recharge stations. "What's that do?" he asked, reaching over to touch it.

My P.O.C. started to go off again.

 _ **Primary Objective: Protect! Primary Objective: Protect!**_

"Stop!" I cried, reaching out and grabbing his hand before he could touch the power supply and overload his systems. Metal Knuckles gave me a weird look.

"Why?" he asked.

"Touching that would send 500,000 volts of electricity through your body, permanently damaging you if not destroying you outright," I explained.

Metal Knuckles gave me a blank look. "No it won't," He said simply.

What? How did he come up with that conclusion? "Do not touch that power supply," I ordered again,

"Why?" he asked again, even though the answer was _obvious_ and I had _just finished explaining it to him._

"Because I said so," I replied, unsure of how else to explain my actions.

"Oh." Surprisingly, Metal Knuckles decreed this to be a perfectly logical explanation as to why he should not touch a power supply conduit and backed off.

I was surprised he had given in so easily; but perhaps more so when an exhilarating feeling I had never felt before flooded my matrix.

 _ **Primary directive complete,**_ my P.O.C. droned. _**Initiating reward commands.**_

Reward commands? I had not known there was a reward for completing primary objectives, but then, I had never been able to complete my primary objective before. It was a very pleasant feeling; I ran a diagnostic and discovered it was known as _happiness._

I watched as Metal Knuckles darted around the room, looking in odd places for new things to discover, and decided I liked him. He had given me a gift; albeit unknowingly; he had allowed me to complete my primary objective for the first time, and unlocked a reward I otherwise would never have known. Happiness. It was such a nice change from feeling hatred.

"Hey, what's that?" Metal Knuckles asked, darting off.

My P.O.C. started blaring again. _**Primary objective: Protect! Primary objective: Protect!**_

And it seems, that Metal Knuckles would see to it that I would feel happiness again. And a good many times at that.

I shook my head as a delighted squeal came from the corridor. "Metal Sonic, Metal Sonic, there's another ME in a shiny wall in here, and his eyes are GLOWING!" Metal Knuckles called.

I walked into the corridors and confirmed that Metal Knuckles was staring at a mirror, and was now making funny poses into it. Within moments he got bored and prepared to run off again, however.

"Metal Knuckles!" I called, causing him to stop and look at me.

"What?" he asked.

"Return to our recharging center and prepare for your recharge cycle."

Metal Knuckles seemed to visibly deflate. "Aw…do I have too?" he moaned.

"Yes."

He sighed, but nevertheless he obeyed me and went to recharge himself. My P.O.C. confirmed my objective as completed and rewarded me again. I was definitely better at Protect than I was Destroy. I recalled hearing someone liken the cursed hedgehog, Sonic, as a protector, and I now realized why he seemed to enjoy the title.

I decided I would be the greatest protector ever. Even better than Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Metal Sonic, my battery's not draaaaaaaiiiinnned," Metal Knuckles called from inside his recharge center, his voice going into a delicious whine.

"I do not care. It is your recharging time," I replied, going to ensure he actually started to recharge before I recharged myself.

I am Metal Sonic. My primary objective is to destroy Sonic the Hedgehog…and it is to protect Metal Knuckles. I will do both and nothing will get in my way.


	2. Episode: Android

**Here we go with chapter 2! Shadow Android's origins. Disclaimer: I do not own it.**

* * *

It was the first time I had seen Eggman in two months. I had begun to suspect he had been stranded on some deserted isle, never to return.

Maybe I was correct with my assumptions; he certainly _looked_ like a castaway. His eyes were red and bloodshot; his chin had a thick layer of stubble that he normally would not permit. What little remained of his hair was sticking in random directions instead of the usual comb over that he somehow believes no one notices. And his left eye was twitching in the way it only did when he had been drinking insane amounts of coffee to keep himself working without sleep. He seemed happy though.

"I did it!" he shouted, doing a little jig that further confirmed the too-much-coffee-not-enough-sleep theory I currently had.

"Yes!" Metal Knuckles cheered in triumph as he joined the doctor in his happy dance. Metal Knuckles had no idea what had been accomplished and why that involved dancing; but far be it from Metal Knuckles to pass up jigging opportunities. Eggman reached over and grabbed Metal Knuckles' arms and they started dancing with each other for about five minutes. Then Eggman stopped, staring off into space with a strange look on his face. Then his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he passed out on the floor.

Yes, that was what normally happened when he came off a no-sleep-lotsa-coffee binge.

Metal Knuckles didn't even pause in his dance, except to taunt, "Too much for ya, huh? You can't out-dance the dance mastuh!" Then he stuck his butt out and wiggled it around in what I can only assume was some sort of victory pose.

It's going to be a loooooong day.

* * *

After about two days worth of sleep, Eggman was more or less in his right mind again, and therefore in a position to brag about what he'd been so happy about on the fateful pass out dance day.

"After all my work, I finally managed to create a factory that will mass-produce an unstoppable hoard of new machines to take over the world with!" He stopped here to do a mad scientist laugh.

"Mass producing SWATbots?" I asked, cocking my head. Didn't he already have factories for that?

"Not exactly," Eggman chuckled. "These machines have an even more advanced AI than the Metal series, my crowning achievements. Absolutely glitch proof so no more annoying Metal Kn—"

Eggman all of a sudden noticed that Metal Knuckles was staring at him. He looked sad. Eggman's face developed a look that reminded me of a look one gets when realizing he's accidentally kicked a puppy, and the doctor hastily stated, "Knees! I hate it when my knees feel all…metally…"

It was a horrible cover up, but luckily Metal Knuckles bought it and perked up to his usual annoying self.

"Anyway," Eggman also cheered up as he went back to explaining his genius. "My new Android series will be all but unstoppable once I get all 10,000 units created! I have a mere 500 now, but they've already succeeded in taking over Green Hill Zone! Bwahahaha…oh, now what?"

Eggman turned to the monitor for some reason that I couldn't fathom and growled. "Shadow? What's he doing here?"

I also turned to the monitors which indeed showed Shadow the Hedgehog, looking around in bewilderment. I wonder why Eggman's intruder alerts hadn't been going off. Strange…

"Bah! I'll take care of this myself! Metal Sonic, watch the monitors and make sure that no one gets into the new assembly lines."

As Eggman turned to go, Metal Knuckles blocked his way. "What do I do?" he asked eagerly.

"Um…stay here and…um…stare at this pretty penny," Eggman offered, handing him said penny.

Metal Knuckles was instantly transfixed. "Ooh, shiny," he said, staring at the penny intently.

"I'm going to fix that personality glitch," Eggman remarked aloud, staring at Metal Knuckles. He seemed highly disturbed. But also distracted, as he added, "Tomorrow," and left.

* * *

"Hey, Metal Sonic, what's that noise? Huh, huh? What's that noise? What's that noise, Metal Sonic? Tell me. Tell me, tell me, please, please, pretty please with whipped cream and a jug of oil on top tell me!"

I finally looked up from my work and focused on my counterpart, Metal Knuckles, who had been standing three feet away from me and chanting, "Tell me, tell me, what's that noise?" over and over for the last three minutes. Obviously he had tired from staring at his pretty penny; or perhaps his newfound boredness had to do with the fact that he had accidentally dropped his penny in a drain the moment Eggman had left the building.

Other than the noise currently emerging from Metal Knuckles, however, there was no noise. None at all. I was supposed to be watching the monitors for intruders, of course, but it was hard to concentrate with Metal Knuckles' infernal chanting.

"There is no noise," I informed him, knowing that he wouldn't let me off the hook that easily.

"Yes there is. Tell me what it is. Please, pretty please?"

I sighed and gave him my full attention, deciding that it would be easier just to go along with his game. "It's the Bolt Fairy, Metal Knuckles," I told him patronizingly.

He paused, his central processing unit trying to take in my comment. "The…Bolt Fairy?" he asked.

"Yes, the Bolt Fairy. Whenever good little robots' old rusted bolts get replaced by nice, shiny new ones, the Bolt Fairy comes and takes the old bolts and gives you a quarter for it."

If they could, his optics sensors would have gotten huge. "Really?" he asked in wonder. "Why does the Bolt Fairy want my old bolts, Metal Sonic?"

"To make bolt towers, of course," I replied, wondering when he'd let me go back to watching the monitors.

Metal Knuckles looked thoughtful. "Is the Bolt Fairy a red and white robot?"

"Sure, yeah," I humored him.

"With a big, flat head and yellow eyes and he's got black on him too?"

"Yes, that description sounds accurate."

"And he's got a funny little yellow marking? And when he shows up there's a funny sound?"

"Yes, you always know the Bolt Fairy's here when you hear a funny sound."

"And the words INTRUDER ALERT flashes on the TVs when he shows up?"

"Yes, that…" All of a sudden I got this sick feeling that I really ought to turn around and take another look at the monitor. I did so and gasped. E-123 Omega, Eggman's rogue robot, was in the base near the assembly plants!

"Yea!" Metal Knuckles looked excited. "The Bolt Fairy's here and I'm gonna get a quarter!"

"Why didn't the alarms go…" All of a sudden Metal Knuckles' questions about noise started to make sense. Of course, that didn't explain why I hadn't heard them. But I had a feeling someone else could shed some light on that dilemma…

"Metal Knuckles."

He cringed, as he usually did whenever I used that tone of voice. "Yes?" he asked.

"Did you do something to my auditory sensors?"

"Um…"

"Tell me what you did."

"Well, you were recharging and I was bored and your ears looked interesting so I sorta…unscrewed them from your head and played with 'em like a ping-pong ball and then put 'em back before you woke up."

I stared at him. He, for his own part, stared at the ground. I checked my internal readings and sure enough, my hearing had decreased by 92%. "Why would you do that?" I asked him.

"I dunno."

"And why can I still hear you?"

He perked up, pleased to have an answer. "You were talking REALLY loud today and I thought we were playing a game, so I've been yelling at you. So was Master; but he always likes to yell like that, y'know?"

That's strange; the sides of my temples seem to be throbbing. Perhaps he had done more damage while I was asleep. I would have to consult Dr. Eggman when I had more time. Right now, I had to go stop Omega before he did massive amounts of damage and I was blamed.

"Stay here," I told Metal Knuckles. "And don't open the door for anybody but me."

"OK!" Metal Knuckles grinned, then looked confused. "Who's Me?" he asked as I rushed out of the monitor room. Normally I would have started trying to explain in a futile attempt to make him understand, but now I have more pressing concerns.

* * *

I arrived at Omega's location soon after I left and began performing sensor sweeps of the area. My sensors indicated that he was inside the new assembly plants; which frankly could not be a good thing.

I raced into the Android processing plant and looked around, my first view being of thousands of robots in various stages of assembly that looked just like…

"Shadow?" I asked aloud. Seriously, a Metal Sonic, a Metal Knuckles, and now Shadow Androids?

What, can't Eggman think of an original design for his robots?

Omega appeared at that moment, a laser cannon where his arm should be as he literally blew the place apart. That reminded me that there was something I was supposed to be doing; but I digress.

"Omega," I said aloud, causing him to pause in his tirade and stare at me. "Cease this activity at once!"

"Negative," Omega replied, aiming his weapon at me. "My Priority One Objective is to destroy Eggman's machines until only the original remains." he paused for a moment, lowering his weapon a fraction of an inch. "You are intelligent," he told me. "You do not have to serve Eggman. Join me, Metal Sonic, and we will complete Priority One Objective together."

I was tempted. I had, after all, been wanting to leave Eggman, if only temporarily. Just so I could prove once and for all that I was not simply a mere copy of Sonic the Hedgehog. Here was a perfect opportunity…

Omega sensed my hesitation and lowered his weapon more, looking triumphant. "What is your reply?" he asked.

"Does your offer extend to Metal Knuckles?" I asked him, still uncertain as to whether or not I should throw in my lot with him.

Omega shuddered. "Are you kidding?" he asked me incredulously. "Of course not!"

"Why not?" I demanded.

"Surely you haven't forgotten the jellybeans incident!" Omega snapped.

Oh….yeah. It was shortly before Omega went rogue, actually. Metal Knuckles had gotten bored and shoved green jellybeans inside Omega's armor; where they melted. It took three weeks and a pickax to get them all out. Metal Knuckles' only remark was how cool it was that jellybeans could melt and he hadn't known they could do that. Omega had harbored a grudge against Metal Knuckles' ever since.

"Is Metal Knuckles here?" Omega suddenly asked, distracting me from my memories. "Because if he is I'll blow his head off!"

I hissed and brought up my ion cannons. "No you won't!" I yelled at him. " _MY_ Priority One Objective is to protect Metal Knuckles!" With that, I shot him.

He had been certain that I would join him and was unprepared for an attack. As a result I scored a direct hit on his power core; he was shutting down.

Omega glared at me. "Good…shot…" he admitted. "But you…have…failed." With that, he dropped a small round object on the ground. I stared at it in shock. It was a bomb; with a mere three seconds on it before it exploded.

"Priority One Objective…complete," Omega informed me. At that instant Shadow the Hedgehog Chaos Controlled in, grabbed the rogue robot, and disappeared.

And then everything exploded.

* * *

"Metal Sonic! Don't go into the light! I NEED YOU!"

"Would you get out of here?"

"WAAAAAAAA!"

Well, the good news was that now my hearing sensors were working properly. The bad news was that that was the only thing that seemed to be working.

"Metal Sonic, I'm reactivating you slowly. You took quite a beating."

"You blew up!" Metal Knuckles' yelled from somewhere in the room.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

Finally, my optics sensors were reactivated and I started looking around. Eggman was working on me and standing right behind him was Metal Knuckles.

"What….happened?" I asked, my voice shaky as it was still in the process of reactivating.

"Omega destroyed my base AND all my Shadow Androids," Eggman said, obviously pouting. "Except for one of the older models that I had already put into use."

I looked to where he had pointed and saw a Shadow Android lying on another table on the other side of the lab. While it was mostly intact, it looked like someone had put a machine gun to it's head and repeatedly pulled the trigger. Even so, I could tell that it's quill highlights were not red like Shadow's were.

"Why is it orange and black?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"It seems that Metal Knuckles is roaming my base at night with orange paint when he should be recharging," Eggman said, glaring at Metal Knuckles.

Metal Knuckles looked offended. "Orange is pretty!"

Eggman sighed. "Well, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, I suppose. Shadow did a pretty number on it, but Omega didn't touch it. He was obsessing over destroying Shadow Androids beyond repair and somehow the orange paint fooled him into mistaking this particular one for something else. And since my blueprints were destroyed along with my processing plant, this model is my sole remaining Shadow Android. It will take years to redesign my schematics."

My rebooting process finally completed and I stood shakily to my feet. Eggman shooed me and Metal Knuckles out of the room so that he could work on repairing the Shadow Android model.

* * *

Two weeks later I was back in Eggman's lab with Metal Knuckles as the doctor reactivated the Shadow Android machine. Eggman flicked a switch and the machine's optics lit up.

"Shadow Android," Eggman said aloud. "What is your Priority One Objective?"

This was a standard question whenever Eggman created a new machine; just to make sure they were functioning properly.

Shadow Android was silent for a long time. Then, quietly, he replied, "I…I don't remember."

In case you were wondering, that is a sign that he was not functioning properly. Eggman muttered something under his breath as he ran Shadow Android through several diagnostics, all of which showed several large gaps in his memory processors.

Eggman responded to these dilemmas by sitting me down and updating my Priority One Objectives by adding Shadow Android as one of my charges. I was upset; I did not want to protect Shadow Android. I had a hard enough time protecting Metal Knuckles; there was no way I could protect TWO robots!

But then, I did not yet know that Shadow Android was much, much different than Metal Knuckles…

* * *

I found out during trash duty. It was a menial task; getting all the useless scrap around Eggman's base and throwing it into the furnace where it was melted down so Eggman could turn it into something else. Metal Knuckles, as usual, was trying to find new and unique ways to tap-dance on the ceiling. (Don't laugh; the lunatic has actually pulled it off and almost blew up the state of Wisconsin doing it—don't ask.)

Shadow Android, apparently, was attracted to the bright colors of the fire and went to touch it. I quickly heeded my P.O.C. and grabbed his wrist.

"Do not touch the fire, it will cause your arm to melt."

Shadow Android went silent, staring at my hand which restrained his; and then at the fire. I prepared myself to try to answer a slew of nonsense questions.

Finally though, he nodded. "New programming complete. I will not touch the fire."

To say I was shocked was putting it mildly; I hesitantly let go of his wrist and he backed away from the fire where he would not get burned. "Well…good." I said, as I could think of nothing else at the moment.

"Look! I'm a moose!" Metal Knuckles called from somewhere in the room; but I ignored him for the moment and went back to shoveling scrap metal.

After a while, Shadow Android broke the silence that had fallen over the room. "Metal Sonic?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

I froze again and looked up at him. He was staring at me intently, more than likely recording my every move in order to relearn the data he had lost.

I nodded back at him. "You are welcome."

It seems I am no longer just Metal Knuckles' protector. I am Shadow Android's teacher.

Shadow Android, without even realizing it, had solved a counter-productive subroutine I had developed but had ignored in the vain hopes that it would go away. Sonic the Hedgehog was not a teacher. If I was a teacher, then I could never be a mere copy of Sonic the Hedgehog. I am unique.

I will be the best teacher ever.


	3. Episode: Metal

My name is Metal Sonic. I am the most advanced, state-of-the-art android currently in existence. My programming enables me to be the most careful spy and the most bloodthirsty assassin ever to grace this world we live in.

I, am a freaking _maid._

I mean, you wouldn't think it would be so HARD for Eggman to create a maid-bot to clean his base. But nooooo. He made me do it. What's more, he always forced me to wear this frilly apron thing when I clean the base, too.

I hope to the Almighty that Sonic decides to take a break and not bust into the base today.

I was currently dusting off some of Eggman's worthless knick-knacks (All egg-shaped, of course) when I heard a crash that did not help cheer me up at _all._ Growing ever more frustrated, I threw the feather duster I was holding onto the floor and jetted into the next room, where the crash had come from.

The room happened to contain several of Eggman's inventions and experiments, but I digress.

Inside, the two culprits who had caused that noise were desperately trying to sweep a broken jar under a table, whispering amongst themselves. I crossed my arms and watched them for a moment.

The figure on the right was one Metal Knuckles. The figure on the left, was Shadow Android.

I was supposed to protect and teach these units. I had given up on teaching Metal Knuckles anything and contented myself to watching him closely. He acts something like a hyperactive six-year-old. I was doing slightly better with Shadow Android, except his memory gaps were bewildering to say the least.

These memory gaps of his are quite annoying; he doesn't know how to aim projectile weapons (He can shoot, but it's rare that he actually hits something…although once he did accidentally blow off half of Eggman's mustache) or fight opponents hand-to-hand, or how to hack into computer terminals, or anything that is critical for Eggman's robots to know. His knowledge of the world is also sorely limited; and although he doesn't act like a six-year-old, he might as well be one.

I sighed, watching the two's antics while they desperately tried to cover up their mistakes and cleared my throat. The two whirled around, Metal Knuckles' eyes going wide when he saw me and Shadow Android stiffening considerably.

"What are you two doing in this room? You know it's off-limits," I chastised them.

Metal Knuckles fidgeted. "We just wanted to help, and then the jar of the living dead jumped at me and I had to defend myself and then WHOOSH! The world ended but then it broke and we tried to fix it and you came in…"

My logic circuits were about to short-circuit. It was always this way when I tried to speak to Metal Knuckles. I turned to Shadow Android, silently demanding an explanation.

None was forthcoming, however, as his only comment was, "Metal Sonic, why are you wearing a dress?"

I blinked at him. "What?" I asked, looking down at my apron. "Oh, this? It's not a dress; it's an apron. And I'm wearing it because Eggman told me too. Now, let us return to the matter at hand…"

Shadow Android refused to let it go. "I can't take you seriously in that dress," he snickered.

"It is _*NOT*_ a dress," I snapped, grabbing the apron and ripping it off, tossing it on the floor. "And you know you're not allowed in this room!"

Metal Knuckles, sensing he was in big trouble, desperately tried to butter me up so his punishment would be lighter. "I thought the dress looked pretty on you, Metal Sonic," he told me.

A very loud hiss escaped my servo matrix; how many times did I have to tell them it wasn't a dress already? And what is it about these two that gives them the ability to make me so _mad_? I was about to respond when we all heard a horrifying noise: Eggman's footsteps coming towards the room as he whistled a merry tune!

Metal Knuckles immediately started panicking. "If he sees us here he'll turn us into scrap metal!" he shrieked. "Please, hide us, Metal Sonic! Please, please, we'll be good!"

Shadow Android didn't freak out, but he did seem to be trembling slightly and his eyes looked pleading as he stared at me silently.

The protectiveness chip I had installed to better help me take care of the two (I had discovered online that the best caretakers have an extremely strong amount of protectiveness towards their charges) took over and I nodded, looking around. I found a large closet-like area over to the side and I quickly grabbed their arms, dragging them over to it. "In here," I whispered, getting in after them in order to assure that they would not reveal themselves. "And stay quiet."

The three of us held our proverbial breaths as we heard Eggman enter the room, clap his hands, and rub them together. "Today's the day," he said, in an unnaturally good mood. "Today I figure out how to induce interdimensional travel. Oh, the possibilities!"

After this, he started humming softly as several things clanged together. Metal Knuckles whimpered and latched onto my waist so hard that his fingers made indentions in my hull.

After about five minutes, the door to our closet opened and Eggman stared right at me! Shadow Android and Metal Knuckles were so startled they started to shriek, but I managed to shush them before they could make much of a sound.

Eggman was in such a good mood he didn't quite realize we were in here yet. "Hello, Metal Sonic," he said absent-mindedly, handing me a plant. "Hold this a moment, would you?"

"Yes, sir," I said, taking the plant. Eggman closed the door to the closet and we heard him muttering something about getting ready to test the machine. I was wondering why he would bother to put a plant in a closet.

Unless…it wasn't a closet…

I gasped, grabbing Shadow Android and Metal Knuckles. "We have to get out of here NOW!" I shrieked, but it was too late. The closet—which wasn't really a closet—started to fade out, and us with it. I could see right through all our bodies, and the closet as well now.

"What's happening?" Shadow Android asked, sounding frightened.

"Metal Sonic!" Metal Knuckles shrieked.

"It is alright," I told them, although I was quite worried about this myself. The everything was fading fast.

Just before the darkness took over, however, I saw Eggman straighten up, his eyes widening as he realized something. "Metal Sonic? What's he doing in there?" he asked, looking over to his machine again.

By that time, it was far too late for him to stop his experiment, and the world went black…

* * *

When I woke up, my first immediate thought was to ensure that all my body parts were still intact, and then to locate my charges and make sure that all of their body parts were still intact.

A quick search revealed that all three of us were present and accounted for, and so were all body parts. The interdimensional closet we were in seemed to have disappeared into thin air. We were in some sort of dark room, with no windows and only one door. It was quite dark; but as I have night vision I did not particularly care about such things. My foremost concern was to see if my charges were still online. A quick check showed that they were in hibernation mode, but they were fine.

I sighed with relief, then I froze as the door opened. I whirled around, already aiming my weapons when a huge fat man calmly entered the room without a care in the world. My first thought was how it was possible that his teensy little legs could hold up all that blubber, but I deleted that query and told myself to find a way to take periodic breaks from watching Metal Knuckles.

"Who are you?" I asked, not lowering my weapon.

The man gave me an amused look. "Put the gun down Metal Sonic," he said simply. "It's not nice to threaten your creator."

* * *

It turns out that for once, Eggman made something that actually _works_. We really were in another dimension; one where Eggman actually managed to take over the world. Here he was known simply as Robotnik, though.

Robotnik had noticed high energy readings from the interdimensional closet we had come from and had sent his drones to find out what it was. It seems he had either invented or stolen the technology to turn organic Mobians into machines. He admitted he had yet to make a Metal Sonic; he had seen my designation on my internal memory chips, showing that he clearly could care less about privacy or the fact that my memory banks were booby trapped.

Truly, Robotnik had something that Eggman clearly lacked: Cold hearted insanity.

I didn't like Robotnik very much. But the thought of staying with him as his second in command (as he wanted me too) became more appealing after I learned that his Sonic did not have access to Chaos abilities. The way he operated was with the rings; but there were very few rings in this dimension so that meant he was basically powerless against me. Eggman had really poured on my upgrades until Metal Knuckles came along; he'd been so obsessed with defeating a Chaos-charged Sonic that he invented machinery and weapons that Robotnik had never even considered, much less figure out, and I had been given every one.

If I stayed here, there was a very, very good chance that I would finally destroy Sonic the Hedgehog once and for all. Did it really matter which Sonic I destroyed, as long as I was the one who killed him?

"So, Metal Sonic, what do you think of my proposal?" Robotnik asked me after his lengthy explanation of my duties under his regime.

I considered. "This is…a difficult decision to make. May I be allowed to recharge so I will have full use of my metal capacities?"

"But of course," Robotnik said, giving me a smile I wasn't so sure I liked. "Sleep well, and tomorrow we will make our plans to kill the hedgehog."

He sent me with one of his Robian slaves to a recharge chamber where I met up with Metal Knuckles and Shadow Android. It was only as I prepared to recharge that I realized something: I had not told Robotnik I would join him, but he was already making plans as if I had. It was an interesting trait. I wondered if that meant he was overconfident, or if he knew something I didn't.

I hoped it was the former.

* * *

 _It was cold, dark, and it was raining. My hull had been damaged severely; water was seeping in and several warning signs were blaring. Lightning flashed above me for a moment, lighting up the face of my tormentor, my foe, my most hated adversary._

 _Sonic the Hedgehog gave me an insufferable smirk. "Face it. You just can't beat me, you tin plated freak," he said, curling into a ball and spinning towards me. I heard the unmistakable sound of the metal on my chest being ripped apart and then nothingness, and all the while the cursed hedgehog was laughing at my distress…_

* * *

I jerked painfully and my optics powered on, revealing myself to be in my recharging center. A small signal in the back of my brain was informing me that I had interrupted the recharging cycle prematurely, but I did not care. My memory circuits had been playing tricks on me. Sonic the Hedgehog had not defeated me that night. The memory was from several years ago; one of my first encounters with him.

The encounter where I first began to hate him.

How much of this memory was accurate I do not know, nor do I care. My logic circuits insist very little is true; the Sonic of my nightmares and the Sonic of reality were very incompatible. But I _did_ hate Sonic. I hated him so that I did not care what was truth or what was false. I wanted him dead. I wanted him dead so badly, I could hardly think of anything else. I had not been allowed to go after him since Metal Knuckles and Shadow Android had been online. Eggman did not want to risk my being damaged beyond repair as I was the only one they would listen too. Neither of them meant to; and in fact, neither of them even know who Sonic is. But they are the reason I can not try to kill him anymore.

"Metal Sonic?"

I whirled to see Metal Knuckles standing outside his recharge center and I felt annoyance rising within me. I had told him to recharge. "What are you doing online?" I asked him.

"You were talking while you were recharging and it made me go online," Metal Knuckles said matter-of-factly.

I sighed, my irritation dying down. "I am sorry I reactivated you. Go back to your recharging. I will turn down my voice matrix so as not to disturb you again."

"OK," Metal Knuckles turned back to his recharge center, but then paused. "Hey, you kept saying someone's name over and over again."

"Did I?" I asked, humoring him.

"Who's Sonic the Hedgehog?"

Hatred spiked every emotional chip I had; I could feel nothing but hatred. The very name of my enemy was enough to drive me over the edge. "Don't you EVER say that name in my presence!" I yelled, and my hand shot out…

The next thing I knew, Metal Knuckles was on the floor, his hand clutching his face. He looked stunned. "Whoa," he said, sounding bewildered. "My memory's all wonky. I think you hit me."

I paused, shocked at his statement and I immediately started to scan my memory banks.

"But you wouldn't do that, cuz you're my pal," Metal Knuckles continued matter-of-factly. "I must have slipped and fell. Well, goodnight Metal Sonic."

I didn't answer him as he got back to his recharge chamber. I was too busy replaying a memory of the last five minutes. To my horror, I found that Metal Knuckles was right. My hatred for Sonic had overwhelmed me, and I had punched Metal Knuckles so hard he had collapsed to the floor.

A deep shame and self-revulsion overtook me as I re-entered my own recharging chamber. What have I done?

* * *

My memories continued to haunt me; with interesting new twists; instead of Sonic laughing as he destroyed me, I watched myself laughing as I callously destroyed Metal Knuckles and Shadow Android. I kept jerking out of my recharge chamber; finally I decided to forgo recharging. I had my battery eighty-nine percent charged; that should be more than enough to last me for awhile.

Instead of sleeping, I reviewed my offer from Robotnik and my reasons for wanting to take him up on it. I did not like the fact that the only reason I could think of to stay here was the fact that I could destroy Sonic the Hedgehog. My obsession with him had already caused me to harm someone I have come to…tolerate. This time, at least I knew that I had caused Metal Knuckles no damage; but what if this happened again?

What if, in my determination to destroy Sonic, I also destroyed my charges?

I must…I must write a program in case something like this is in danger of happening. One that nobody, not even that Robotnik, could overwrite so I can do as I choose. But…but what would I want to do if given the choice?

What do I gain by destroying Sonic? I become a thing of death and destruction. Of chaos and revenge and hatred. Do I want that? Is Sonic's death worth that?

But what do I gain by protecting my charges? I become a protector. A teacher. Someone who is admired; someone who is trusted. A being of kindness and compassion. Of order and understanding. Is this what I want? Is this worth giving up the chance to destroy Sonic forever?

What kind of person do I want to be?

After a long time of thinking, I finally made my choice. It took me another hour, but I created an internal virus with orders to target my unwanted programming and destroy it until nothing was left, then to deactivate itself.

By the morning light, one of my Primary Objectives was gone forever, so was any feeling, memory, or emotion that might make me want to complete it. I had chosen, and I could never go back.

* * *

The next morning, Robotnik came and took me and my counterparts up to his observatory. It was a glass dome that looked out over Robotropolis; his capital city. It was here that he gave me my choice.

"I know you want to kill that hedgehog," he told me first thing. "I detected the desires in your mainframe and intensified them a hundred fold. By now, you are so consumed with the desire to destroy Sonic you can think of nothing else."

Aha! So that is why I have become even more obsessed with Sonic's downfall since I came here. It was interesting to see what kind of methods Robotnik would use to get his way. He was so downright conniving.

"Your counterparts over there, however, are useless to me. I can't use them. I'm shocked that the Robotnik of your dimension kept them running. But that's a mistake I will not repeat."

"What do you mean?" I asked. Shadow Android looked concerned when he heard this information; Metal Knuckles had no clue what we were talking about and he said as much.

Robotnik ignored him. "Metal Sonic, I noticed you had an objective to protect these two. But now your hatred for the hedgehog should be so intense that it has overridden this objective. But I must make sure. So, I'm going to give you Sonic the Hedgehog. From this day on, I will make no weapons or plans to defeat him. His downfall is completely up to you. But nothing is free. If you want Sonic the Hedgehog…then you will shoot these two right here, right now, in front of me. Shoot them and make sure they are permanently destroyed."

I nodded, activating my weapons as my Primary Objective came online. It was a good thing I had decided to do what I did last night; I wouldn't want to think he had any type of control over me. "What I do now," I told Robotnik as I took aim. "I do because _I_ chose to, not because of anything you have done."

"Metal Sonic," Shadow Android's voice quivered as he looked at my weapon in disbelief. "W-what are you doing?"

"Something that should have been done a long time ago," I said, taking my shot. It was a perfect hit; it landed right where I wished it to go.

Directly between Shadow Android and Metal Knuckles; destroying Robotnik's security monitors and giving the three of us a chance to escape this cursed city.

"Run! Out the window!" I ordered my charges as I rushed Robotnik, bringing my metallic knee into his gut. He gasped as the air left his lungs and I took the time to dive out the window after my two charges.

As the ground came up in front of me, I kicked on my jet boosters and slowed myself down.

My counterparts met me on the ground. "Metal Sonic, what do we do?" Shadow Android asked me in a hurried whisper.

"We have to find the interdimensional transport closet so we can get out of here," I told him.

"Hey look!" Metal Knuckles pointed off in the distance where two SWATbots were looking for something, no doubt us. "It's some robot friends. HI GUYS! WE'RE OVER HERE!"

I barely kept the presence of mind to tackle Metal Knuckles to the ground as the SWATbots spotted us and started shooting.

"Metal Knuckles," I hissed in his ear. "Let's play Quiet as a Mouse. That's when we see who can be very quiet the longest."

"OK," Metal Knuckles whispered, eager to play a new game.

I pushed him and Shadow Android behind a bombed-out building that provided some shelter. "Wait until I lead them away, then double back to the building and look for the transporter. Send me a message through our private signal when you find it and I will come to you. If I do not come within five minutes, however, then you and Metal Knuckles leave. No excuses, no exceptions. Understand?"

Shadow Android nodded wordlessly. I quickly rushed from the shelter and took aim, shooting two SWATbots. Afterwards I kicked my jet rockets to full power and took off in the opposite direction of Robotnik's tower. The SWATbots blindly followed me, leaving the way clear for my counterparts to escape.

* * *

I have been drawing the SWATbots' fire for ten minutes. No communications have come from Shadow Android. I'm starting to worry for my charges' safety.

I turned a corner and pulled up short, giving a mechanical version of a gasp.

For there, desperately spin dashing SWATbots for all he was worth, was Sonic the Hedgehog.

He was much shorter in this world, I mused. His quills were also shaped different. And by the way he kept spin dashing without changing tactics, I must assume that Robotnik was right in his observation that this Sonic has no Chaos abilities.

But he also looks younger than my Sonic the Hedgehog, so perhaps he will gain Chaos abilities in time.

Behind Sonic is a squirrel who I've never seen before, wearing a vest and clutching her side; she has been wounded.

In one lighting fast moment I twirled around and grabbed the last two SWATbots who had been pursuing me and crushed them in my claws; these were poorly designed. Robotnik might be more wicked, but Eggman's machines were more powerful.

Now that my own safety was currently assured, I turned back to the scene before me and wondered what I should do. Was Sonic not my enemy? No; I had deleted the programming that made him so. He was my rival, but no longer my enemy. My enemy was Robotnik; a foe that currently the two of us shared.

How does that saying go? The enemy of my enemy…

My decision made, I activated my jet boosters and flew towards the battle, feeling my claws lengthen as I tore them into a SWATbot effortlessly. With one lightning quick movement I zipped to each of the other machines, destroying them just as effortlessly.

As the last one fell, I retracted my claws and turned around, still hovering slightly in the air. I was quite pleased at the shocked and bewildered look on Sonic's face.

"Who are you?" Sonic asked me, proving once and for all that there truly was no Metal Sonic in this world. Although, it wouldn't surprise me if one showed up after I escaped. If I escaped.

The squirrel also looked at me, pain evident in her eyes, but also hope. "Are you a Robian who figured out how to bypass Robotnik's mind control?"

I shook my head. "I am not a Robian. I am a pure machine. My name is…Mecha Bot 02." I had intended to state my name, not just my service number, but something stopped me, although I could not tell you what. "I was designed to destroy Sonic the Hedgehog but…I do not want to. I simply wish to be allowed to leave in peace, but it seems I am unable to do so."

"Don't we all?" Sonic asked wryly, a smirk gracing his features. "But don't sweat it, Mecha, me an' Sal get out of tight spots like this all the time."

The squirrel, who I must believe is Sal, grimaced. "I don't think we'll be getting out of this one, Sonic," she said. "If we go, we're dead. If we stay, we're also dead."

Sonic snorted. "Don't be so negative, Sally, we've been dead before, remember?"

"What is your dilemma?" I asked him.

Sonic shrugged. "We've found out that Robuttnik's new factory's giving off waste that's so toxic it'll kill us all in a matter of days. We have to destroy it now, but we just can't seem to make it there. Security's a lot tougher today for some reason."

Oh-oh. "I'm afraid it is my fault. I decided to make my escape today, which accounts for the security." I thought for awhile, then had an idea. "Where is this factory?"

"It's over on the far side. The one pouring out more smoke than a forest fire, see?" Sonic pointed to the correct building and I nodded.

"I see it. Take your friend and go. I will stop the pollution."

"The explosion will take out half of Robotropolis," Sally argued, shaking her head. "Sonic's the only one who can outrun it."

"I am very fast. I will be fine. And if not, at least I will not have to worry about Robotnik," I assured her.

"Sal, we got no choice, we gotta get you out of here," Sonic said, scooping up his protesting friend. He turned and nodded to me gratefully. "Thanks Mecha, I won't forget this. If you do get out of here alive, go to the Great Forest. I'll keep an eye out for you, ok?"

"Affirmative," I said, even though I have no idea what a Great Forest is. Sonic zoomed off, and I headed for the factories, armed with the detonation devices he left behind.

* * *

It took less than a minute to get to the factory with my speed at full throttle. I sighed and armed the detonation packs. I could not wait any longer for my counterparts; I must assume that they escaped. But this factory must be stopped.

As I armed the last pack, a small ping alerted me to a message and I quickly activated my com unit. A small map of the city appeared, along with a dot nearly five miles away. An easy distance, but I must set the bombs off immediately or someone may deactivate them.

Can I escape in time? Depends on whether I'm as fast as I think I am.

I push the detonate button and take off a fraction of a second later. Mere moments after I leave the building a huge explosion rocks it. The heat nearly throws me but I keep my throttle maxed, desperately racing certain doom as I rush for my only way out; the transporter.

It seems like hours, but in reality it was only seconds as I burst into the chamber that the transporter was in, the flames of the explosions literally trailing behind me. Shadow Android grabs my hand and yanks me into the closet as it disappears just before it was too late.

* * *

And just like that, we were back in Eggman's lab. He was red faced and furious.

"How many times have I told you yahoos this lab is off-limits! You've really done it this time!" he rants, no doubt preparing horrid punishments for us. "You're all…you're all grounded for a month! No TV, no video games, I don't even want you staring out the window for amusement? Do you hear me? A month!"

I never thought I'd be so happy to hear Eggman's pathetic attempts to punish us. It's so good to be home.


End file.
